Kindle and Kindle app users can now borrow Amazon's e-books from more than 11, …

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Amazon has finally announced its long-anticipated Kindle lending library, allowing Kindle and Kindle app users to borrow Amazon's e-books from thousands of libraries across the US. Users will be able to find the Kindle books on their participating public library's website and check them out through Amazon, which will send the book directly to users' devices over Whispersync.

"Libraries are a critical part of our communities and we're excited to be making Kindle books available at more than 11,000 local libraries around the country," Amazon's Kindle director Jay Marine said in a statement. "We're even doing a little extra here—normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're fixing this by extending our Whispersync technology to library books, so your notes, highlights and bookmarks are always backed up and available the next time you check out the book or if you decide to buy the book."

The ability to make notes and highlights—and subsequently sync them back to the system for review later—is certainly a major plus. The downside, of course, is that the e-books have to be "returned" after a certain period of time, just like any other library book. Amazon doesn't specify on its site how long the books are borrow-able for, but when asked, Amazon spokesperson Kinley Campbell said that the expiration time varies by library and by the book.

Seven to 14 days isn't a lot of time to read an entire book for some people, but it's hard to argue with free, borrowed books. Our only complaint with this announcement is that there seems to be no comprehensive list of the 11,000 participating libraries—even Amazon's FAQ page about public library books remains vague on this question. The requirement is that the library offers e-books via third party service OverDrive, though, so it's safe to assume that most major libraries will be participating to some degree or another. (You Chicagoans out there get to be lazy, as I've already confirmed that Kindle books can be found via the CPL website).

Edit: Removed links to Amazon due to technical (CMS) problems on our end. See comments for proper links for now.

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Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui

I asked Amazon about Canadian libraries (Specifically the Toronto Public Library system) and apparently there are no plans at present to support those. Also high on my list are academic libraries (since I'm in Toronto, the University of Toronto libraries would be a great addition)

We're having technical difficulties with the Amazon link (Clint wrote a script to affiliate code our Amazon links for things like gift guides, and it looks like it's messing with straight up links too) sorry!

Big question: For a library, do they have to purchase separate copies of books for Kindle vs. ePUB? I assume not, if it's all through Overdrive, but that's a critical piece of the puzzle. If anyone can confirm one way or the other...

I have to shake my head at the backwardness and cognitive dissonance of "lending" an ebook. It just doesn't make any sense. If you want people who can't afford (or don't want to) pay for the book to be able to read it (traditionally, authors do), then give out free copies. Don't try and stuff ebooks into physical book structures.

Big question: For a library, do they have to purchase separate copies of books for Kindle vs. ePUB? I assume not, if it's all through Overdrive, but that's a critical piece of the puzzle. If anyone can confirm one way or the other...

When Kindle announced this program, they stated that libraries would not have to buy extra copies.

I have to shake my head at the backwardness and cognitive dissonance of "lending" an ebook. It just doesn't make any sense. If you want people who can't afford (or don't want to) pay for the book to be able to read it (traditionally, authors do), then give out free copies. Don't try and stuff ebooks into physical book structures.

Yeah. I don't get this comment. If you don't want to borrow eBooks, don't. If you're saying that other people shouldn't take advantage of this model, which, yes, is based on the physical book model, and the traditional library model, then I don't get it. I've used this, I think it's great. I can grab a book for free, read it, or don't read it, and I don't have to travel to the library either to pick it up, or to return it. I also buy a lot of eBooks. Some I borrow, some I buy, some, I borrow, *then* I buy. Authors and publishers are familiar with the business model around libraries. Most authors think that libraries do a great service to them, encouraging reading, etc. Actually, they're kind of like drug dealers, when you think about it. You borrow a lot from the library when you're young, but once you're hooked, you tend to buy more... :-)

I'm not sure why this is exciting to people, I looked through Overdrive's selection yesterday and it seems really crappy. I understand that this is probably the fault of the publishers, not Amazon/Overdrive/the libraries, but it still sucks.

I'm not sure why this is exciting to people, I looked through Overdrive's selection yesterday and it seems really crappy. I understand that this is probably the fault of the publishers, not Amazon/Overdrive/the libraries, but it still sucks.

The selection depends on the library as they're the ones buying the ebook licenses. Here in South Florida, 4 or 5 of the local library systems banded together to make one consortium for getting one large, shared ebook collection.

Of course, this leads to the problem of the Library system I work at hasn't been given any information from the people running our overdrive catalog when we'll have Kindle support...

Curse you! I moved from Hennipen to Ramsey a few years ago and just a few months ago was forced to give up my Hennipen card in favor of a Ramsey card. Ramsey of course is only supporting Adobe EPUB.

If you go to the Hennepin county library system, you can register your Ramsey county library card to work with their overdrive catalog. I did this years ago when Hennepin county was the only one to support eBooks in overdrive around me.

Yeah. I don't get this comment. If you don't want to borrow eBooks, don't. If you're saying that other people shouldn't take advantage of this model, which, yes, is based on the physical book model, and the traditional library model, then I don't get it. I've used this, I think it's great. I can grab a book for free, read it, or don't read it, and I don't have to travel to the library either to pick it up, or to return it. I also buy a lot of eBooks. Some I borrow, some I buy, some, I borrow, *then* I buy. Authors and publishers are familiar with the business model around libraries. Most authors think that libraries do a great service to them, encouraging reading, etc. Actually, they're kind of like drug dealers, when you think about it. You borrow a lot from the library when you're young, but once you're hooked, you tend to buy more... :-)

You explained why libraries (and therefore letting people read books for free) are good, but you entirely missed my point. The idea of a library (a local organization that collects books to lend them out) is completely unnecessary for ebooks, it makes no sense anymore. You should be able to just download free copies from the author, or Amazon, or wherever. Libraries provide a lot of infrastructure and administration necessary when you are shuffling around paper, but they are superfluous when dealing with ebooks. Putting a system like this into place is just unnecessarily propping up the outdated modes of thought about content.

That Amazon is transmitting via their "Whispernet" is interesting. If you send a personally owned e-Book to your kindle via Whispernet in .doc or .txt format, I believe they charge a fee per-MB for the conversion and transmission. The article doesn't specify if they intend to charge.

Anyone know?Edit: dropped some words and found this information at the FAQ:How do I send library books to my Kindle device or reading app?

Once a public library book has been redeemed, you can send it to any registered Kindle device or reading app from the Manage Your Kindle page. Public library books require an active Wi-Fi connection for wireless delivery to a Kindle device.

Library books will not be delivered via your Kindle's 3G connection. If trying to send to a Kindle device and do not have an active Wi-Fi connection, you may instead choose to load your library book via USB.

Curse you! I moved from Hennipen to Ramsey a few years ago and just a few months ago was forced to give up my Hennipen card in favor of a Ramsey card. Ramsey of course is only supporting Adobe EPUB.

If you go to the Hennepin county library system, you can register your Ramsey county library card to work with their overdrive catalog. I did this years ago when Hennepin county was the only one to support eBooks in overdrive around me.

You explained why libraries (and therefore letting people read books for free) are good, but you entirely missed my point. The idea of a library (a local organization that collects books to lend them out) is completely unnecessary for ebooks, it makes no sense anymore. You should be able to just download free copies from the author, or Amazon, or wherever. Libraries provide a lot of infrastructure and administration necessary when you are shuffling around paper, but they are superfluous when dealing with ebooks. Putting a system like this into place is just unnecessarily propping up the outdated modes of thought about content.

Libraries usually buy the books they lend out, and if you look many books are "library editions." At least where I've lived, libraries don't collect used books from customers to lend out to others. Those books go to semi-annual used book sales to raise funds to buy books.

The model is that a local library has X amount of funding and decides on what books, DVDs, CDs and now ebooks to buy with it based on the needs of their local users.

> propping up the outdated modes of thought about contentUnless this is code for "information wants to be free! paying for content is evil!", you're missing that: - Much of the content at libraries is paid for not collected - Librarians have the role of choosing what their community needs

ebooks are a nice addition for not just the lazy: there are older and disabled customers who might have problems getting to the library, and with an ebook they can also make any book into a large-print edition.

I'm not sure why this is exciting to people, I looked through Overdrive's selection yesterday and it seems really crappy. I understand that this is probably the fault of the publishers, not Amazon/Overdrive/the libraries, but it still sucks.

It's still in infancy, but this is the way things are transitioning. And for those of us who do own kindles and do a lot with our library, it's a nice option to have.

You should be able to just download free copies from the author, or Amazon, or wherever. Libraries provide a lot of infrastructure and administration necessary when you are shuffling around paper, but they are superfluous when dealing with ebooks. Putting a system like this into place is just unnecessarily propping up the outdated modes of thought about content.

I think there is still a place for wanting a book temporarily. Reference books for a school paper, for example. And the latest crappy ghost-written potboiler from {insert mega author name here} isn't necessarily something you want to buy and so you re-read it at sme time in the future -- but libraries PAY for the books so the author and publisher still get paid. Less than selling a copy to every individual, but something -- and only one copy can typically be lent out at a time, just like if I buy a physical book I can lend it to a friend but don't have use of it at the same time.

"Just download it for free" removes the revenue model for the books getting written in the first place, including the temporary restrictions that make the library model work for the publisher.

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I only recently started using a nook for some of my books and reference material. I doubt B&N will do any sort of library thing but will be curious to see how well it works for amazon.

DRM can be easily stripped from Kindle books and then converted to formats the Nook will read. Not legally, but it is possible.

Our local library has a digital zone with Overdrive, ePUB, PDF and MOBI books, but I haven't been impressed with the selection.

Sony has supported book lending for at least two years. Yet not a single mention of the competition, or how insanely late Amazon is to the game, or criticism for being so late.

So no good of Sony.

PeterWimsey wrote:

Dave Cattran wrote:

Big question: For a library, do they have to purchase separate copies of books for Kindle vs. ePUB? I assume not, if it's all through Overdrive, but that's a critical piece of the puzzle. If anyone can confirm one way or the other...

When Kindle announced this program, they stated that libraries would not have to buy extra copies.

Publishers previously stated a requirement that eBooks will expire after a certain time and libraries will have to re-purchase them. I do not know if this program went into effect or not, but it was several months ago. And I don't know if Ars covered it, though it should have been since it puts a greater burden on libraries and taxpayers.

Libraries usually buy the books they lend out, and if you look many books are "library editions."

Book sales to libraries are tiny enough to be irrelevant to a book's overall sales, and library editions are just ones that have the bindings replaced with tougher ones.

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Unless this is code for "information wants to be free! paying for content is evil!", you're missing that:- Much of the content at libraries is paid for not collected- Librarians have the role of choosing what their community needs

Information is free, paying for content you enjoy is good. The curation role of librarians is already being superseded by blogs and reviews on websites. Location is irrelevant when dealing with content, we're global now.

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I think there is still a place for wanting a book temporarily.

It doesn't make any sense though. Once you have a copy of it, it's just taking up a few kb on your device. You can't "give it back". Nobody else needs that "copy". You can delete it if you are sure you will never look at it again, but you might as well keep it around, since the storage cost of a few kb is nonexistent.

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"Just download it for free" removes the revenue model for the books getting written in the first place, including the temporary restrictions that make the library model work for the publisher.

It's pretty clear at this point that the whole "If it's available for free nobody will pay! Civilization will crumble! Authors will die of exposure in the streets!" line of though is a complete fallacy. Piracy (the content for free) is ubiquitous and has been for decades. It's trivial to strip ebook DRM and share it around. Yet, people still buy books, People who read ebooks buy more books. Authors like Corey Doctorow and T.A. Pratt release their book for free when it goes to stores, and they sell just as many or more copies. Authors are launching Kickstarter projects to replace advances, and having people put down way more money than they would make if someone bought the book normally. Free copies don't hurt author's income, they help it.